


You Bite Your Friends Like Chocolate

by Moriartied



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: (Like actual type 1 diabetes not like in reference to the fluffiness), Actor Louis, Alternate Universe, Artist Zayn, Blow Jobs, Diabetes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Insecure Louis, Light Angst, M/M, Niall doesn't exist oops, Nick is still a radio host, Non-Famous Liam, Non-Famous Louis, Past Nick Grimshaw/Harry Styles, Popstar Harry, Rimming, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-23 05:20:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4864604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriartied/pseuds/Moriartied
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is sleeping with Nick Grimshaw. Friends with benefits, or whatever you want to call it; Louis' not a fan of labels. Or relationships. He's not really a fan of Nick either, if you believe a word he says.</p><p>Nick just wants Louis to give him a chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> _Original Prompt: Tomlinshaw fic where Louis is type 1 diabetic and if that hipster asshole asks him ONE MORE TIME ABOUT HIS GLUCOSE LEVELS HE'S GONNA RIP HIS FUCKING THROAT OUT but also he might be having a hypo and maybe if he's quick about it Louis can grab that chocolate Nick's offering without him noticing._
> 
> Disclaimer: I apologize for any medical inaccuracies. My knowledge of diabetes comes from reading excessive amounts of medical records for lawsuits at work, but I still can’t claim to know everything.
> 
> The 1975 isn't super cliche or anything.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (This was written for the original prompt. The rest of the fic is an extension.)

“Have you checked your levels?” Nick asks for the thousandth time that morning. Louis glares at him.

“Yes, Nicholas, I am a big boy,” he sneers in return. They’re in line at Starbucks, because that’s apparently a thing they do now.

Somewhere along the line Nick had gone from a booty call to an actual friend (with benefits of course) and Louis wasn’t exactly sure how that had happened, though it wasn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. Most days. Today Louis is regretting every decision he’s ever made involving letting this stupid hipster into his life. For god’s sake, does his shirt  _have_  to be that fluorescent?

He can’t believe they’re actually out getting breakfast together. He can’t believe he’s dropped his standards so much as to consider Nick Grimshaw suitable company outside the bedroom. But all his uni friends have gone back home, and he’s the only one still in London so… he supposes Nick will have to do, though if the tosser won’t shut up about his stupid blood sugar, Louis might have to reconsider celibacy and becoming a cat lady.

He absolutely hates wearing a pump. It just draws too much of the wrong kind of attention. He’d rather have someone notice him for his ass rather than the black box attached to it, thank you very much. So instead he’s got a finger prick reader and a few vials of insulin tucked into the bottom of his messenger bag. He checked when he woke up this morning, and everything was fine, and he had an orange before the left the house, so really he should be okay,

They sip their beverages, Nick talking about some new gallery opening, or a new clothing line launch, or whatever his hipster socialite ass got invited to this week, and Louis is nodding along like he’s actually listening, and not just getting lulled by the smooth fluidity of Nick’s voice

The first thing Louis notices is his hand trembling. And oh, shit.

He knows if he stands up he’s probably going to fall crashing to the floor, his head already feeling light, and he knows his sugars are dropping by the minute. He wishes he’d bought something other than tea.

He knows he could ask Nick, and the little shit would be all too willing to jump at the chance to help Louis, while tossing out a few “I told you so’s”. That’s not going to happen though, the only place Nick’s smug face belongs is between his arsecheeks.

Nick’s got half a chocolate bar left, sitting open on the table next to his nonfat soy triple pump sugar free vanilla latte, or whatever the fuck it was that took him a full minute to order. If Louis could just distract him long enough to grab a square…

“Hey look, a puppy,” Louis says, flinging his finger in some random direction. Nick turns and Louis makes a lunge across the table, but the stupid asshole is too quick for him, turning back around as soon as he realizes there’s not a single dog in sight. He sees Louis’ hand reached out across the table and just raises an eyebrow at it.

“Could have just told me your levels were dropping, sweetheart,” he says, picking up the chocolate bar and holding it out to Louis.

Louis wants to give him a glare, but honestly he’s a little too close to the danger zone to do much more than wince sheepishly and take the candy being offered.

“Thanks,” he mutters as he takes a bite.

Nick just shakes his head. “Someday I’m going to get you to let me in, you stubborn idiot,” he murmurs, and if Louis feels a warmth pooling in his belly and a flush rising to his cheeks, well, no one has to know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I apologize for any medical inaccuracies. I spent a ton of time on webMD while at work (since it was actually relevant to my job as well) but I still can't claim to be an expert, so feel free to correct me if something is wrong!
> 
> Comments are much appreciated!

6 Months Ago

_Louis is standing in the bathroom of his flat, wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of black boxer briefs, an insulin pen in his hand as he prepares to jab it into his thigh. He hears movement in his bedroom and knows Nick is awake, and will probably come looking for him in a few seconds so he has to be quick. He prepares the needle, and is twisting the base of the pen to the dose setting he needs when the door opens behind him._

_"What are you doing?" Nick asks, running his fingers through his floppy hair that hasn't been styled into his typical quiff yet. He's frowning at Louis, and Louis looks down to where his foot is propped up on the closed toilet seat, pen injector poised above the soft flesh of his thigh._

_"It's uh. It's nothing. Just a thing I have to...do..." He's never been good at explaining his illness to people. Everyone always pities him. Gives him that same sympathetic look, like he's fragile or damaged. He hates it. He glares at Nick. "Anyway, don't you know how to knock?" he spits back, regretting letting him stay over in the first place. Not that he'd really been in the state of mind to kick him out the night before, after Nick had given him three consecutive orgasms with just his fingers and tongue._

_"Sorry," Nick says, but he doesn't sound it. Sounds like he's got more questions on the tip of his tongue, and Louis knows he's not good at holding back. He's not leaving, so Louis rolls his eyes._

_"It's insulin, if you must know. Now are you going to let me take care of this in peace, or are you gonna get off on me stabbing myself with a needle?" It's harsher than he needs to be, but of all people, the last person he needs sympathy from is Nick Grimshaw._

_Nick opens his mouth like he's going to say something, then shakes his head, looking adequately shameful, and backs out of the bathroom. He's stands for a moment with his hand on the door, then clears his throat. "Do you want breakfast? Coffee?" he asks, a hint of concern in his voice that sounds so wrong coming from the sharp-tongued radio host._

_Louis glares. "I can get it myself, thanks. Now go, make yourself look pretty. Your ugly morning mug is offending my eyes."_

_Nick doesn't say anything, and that pisses Louis off more. Already Nick is treating him differently. He doesn't know why he expected anything else. He'd hoped maybe Nick, always brash and acerbic, would maybe be the one person to not give him shit about this, but he'd been too optimistic._

_Nick finally leaves, shutting the door behind him, and Louis takes a deep breath before jamming the point of the pen into his thigh, waiting for the liquid to enter his bloodstream. He remembers his mum doing this for him when he was a kid, remembers tensing up as she brought the needle closer, even though he knew it hurt less when he relaxed. He remembers the bruises the injections left in his pale skin. He doesn't get bruises anymore. He's practically a pro at this now, doesn't even notice the needle prick, it's just all part of his morning routine._

_He puts the pen back in the drawer, having gotten one of the reusable ones this month since it's what his insurance decided to pay for, and then goes out into the bedroom. Nick's sitting on the bed, still in his sleepwear and hair untouched, his phone in his hand and his brows furrowed as he scrolls. Louis ignores him completely and goes to his closet to pull out a pair of joggers and a clean baseball tee. It's Sunday, and he doesn't have to work until the evening shift. Once he's dressed, he finally rounds on Nick._

_"What are you still doing here?" he demands, arms crossed over his chest._

_"Thought we could go out and get something to eat," Nick shrugs, then he looks down at his phone. "Was researching whether you needed to wait for it to kick in or something, so your blood sugar doesn't spike?" He looks unsure of his use of terminology, but Louis feels a tingle of something inside, something kind of like appreciation, if he had to give it a name. Something about Nick fervently studying up on diabetes is endearing. Louis shoves that thought far, far out of his brain. No. Nick Grimshaw is just a good lay, nothing more. And he's overstayed his welcome, which Louis needs to inform him of._

_"Sorry, can't, got plans." His plans include eating some leftover pizza and playing a couple games of FIFA online with Liam, who's visiting his family in Wolverhampton._

_Nick looks hurt for just a moment, and then laughs it off an nods. "Of course, how could I think Mr. Popularity Louis Tomlinson could possibly have time for a trip to Costa. Which, if I might remind you, is literally next door."_

_Louis huffs. It wouldn't really be the end of the world if he went for bacon sandwiches with Nick, but, well, he's nothing if not dramatic. He didn't get a degree in theater just for shits and giggles._

_"Fine. But you're paying," he gives in after he's decided a suitable amount of delay has passed._

_Nick smiles and stands up, coming over to give him a kiss on the cheek, which Louis makes a disgusted face at, but his cheeks are pink and he has to turn his head before they give him away._

 

_-_

 

Present Day

It's been almost a year since Louis and Nick first started sleeping together. Louis remembers when he first met him, at a gallery opening for Zayn's first solo show. He had been star struck for all of ten minutes before realizing what an absolute twat the breakfast show host was, yet somehow he'd ended up pressed up against the wall of a bathroom stall, one leg hooked around Nick's waist while the man slammed into him and made him see stars. He might be a prick, but he certainly knew how to satisfy.

They've never talked about being exclusive, but somewhere along the line Louis just, well, stopped being interested in anyone else. He has no idea if Nick is still sleeping around or not, and he's certainly not going to be the one to bring it up. But breakfast has become a regular thing, and so has dinner, and now Nick's invited him to be his date for some work event and that feels like a capital letters Big Deal.

Louis looks down to where Nick is kneeling between his legs, hand wrapped firmly around the base of his cock and lips poised above it, ready to take it in, and Louis needs to stop thinking about all this mushy emotional stuff that makes his stomach clench so he glares down at the man, sneering, "What are you waiting for?" And he knows he deserves the flick Nick gives to the head of his cock with his middle finger.

The thing is, Louis' never had a proper relationship. He's not even sure what that means, since he hasn't exactly had the best role models in his life. His mum is great, wonderful, the most amazing human on the planet, but she's had shit luck with men. Honestly it must be genetic because he doesn't have a single non-divorced relative. Doesn't give him much hope for his own future prospects.

Liam and Zayn are probably the closest thing he's got to a healthy example, though they're barely in the same city as each other anymore, now that Zayn's collection has gotten picked up by galleries all over the country and even in the continent. He's in Paris right now, Louis thinks. Or maybe it was Prague. He knows Zayn and Liam love each other, and they make the distance thing work for them, but that's not something Louis could do. He won't deny that he craves constant attention. That he needs someone who's going to be there all the time, and like, worshipping at his feet wouldn't hurt either.

When Nick finally wraps his lips around Louis' dick, he presses back into the pillows with a moan. "Fuck, yeah, I knew there was a reason I was keeping you around," he groans, one bent knee dropping down to the mattress as he cants his hips up, pushing deeper into Nick's mouth. Nick brings his hands up to Louis' thighs, holding him still as he takes him into his throat.

The thing is, Louis doesn't really hate Nick. Not at all. Doesn't think he ever has even when Nick was a complete tosser when they first met. He doesn't hate him when he's checking up on him either, because he knows Nick genuinely cares. He knows this intellectually of course, but he's still not convinced that Nick isn't going to up and leave him the minute he opens his heart.

Nick bobs down, coughing a little as Louis' cock hits the back of his throat, and then humming, the vibrations arching Louis' back up off the bed. "Oh fucking hell," he breathes through clenched teeth. Nick drags his nails sharply down Louis' thighs and that does it. His head drops back hard and he's crying out his orgasm as he thrusts up into Nick's mouth. Nick swallows him down and then crawls up to hover over him, satisfied smirk on his face.

"Kinky little shit," Nick grins, leaning in to kiss him, and Louis can taste himself on Nick's lips. What can he say, he likes it a bit rough. He makes a face though, since he's got to keep up pretenses, and he can't have Nick going and getting an even bigger head. Nick just laughs and flicks Louis' nipple before rolling over onto his back and tugging a pillow over his face. While Louis had just woken up about three minutes before Nick sucked him off, the other man has been up for hours, already completing an entire day's work before eleven. Their schedules are complete opposites. Nick gets up at four in the morning to go to the radio station, while Louis doesn't have to be at the theater until three in the afternoon. He teaches an after school class for primary kids, before rehearsals for his own show, and he's not back from that until late, at which point Nick is usually asleep.

It works for them, though. There's a good chunk of time in the middle of the day that neither of them have any obligations, and plus, they've got weekends free, unless Louis has performances. Not that they need to see each other every day, of course. They don't. Though recently, he's been waking up with Nick in his bed more often than not, and he's pretty sure Nick's underwear outnumbers his in the laundry.

"Need a hand?" Louis asks when he can finally push himself up out of his post-orgasmic haze. Nick snorts behind the pillow.

"So generous of you to offer. But nah, I'm good," he says, waving his hand vaguely at the space between Louis' legs where there's a definite wet patch on the sheets.

"Oh gross," Louis groans, rolling away from the spot. "I just did the wash you dickhead."

Nick moves to spoon him from behind, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

"I'll take care of it while you're at work, sweetheart," he says, and Louis tries to ignore the warmth in his belly at the pet name. If there's one thing he will absolutely not do, it's fall in love with Nick Grimshaw.

 

-

 

The work event turns out to be a premiere for some popstar's second album. Louis vaguely remembers the kid from his season of X Factor, when he came in third, but apparently he and Nick have been friends for a while.

He expects Harry Styles to be some egotistical little shithead, along the lines of Justin Bieber, and is wholly caught off guard by his flowy flamingo patterned button up, and his long curly locks held back by a thick head scarf. Louis wonders why he even bothered with the buttons, since his chest is on display nearly down to his navel, and he's not really Louis' type, but he can't help staring. Harry's smile looks like it could charm the pants off of the prime minister, and no one in the room seems able to resist.

When he sees Nick, his eyes light up, and Louis can tell there's a difference between this look and the one he gives the reporters and industry hacks.

"Nicky!" he exclaims, and his voice is surprisingly deep. Louis feels a little bad, because he hasn't actually listened to any of his music past his first single, which played entirely too much on the radio. He's pretty sure Nick was responsible for at least eighty percent of its air time. Harry wraps his arms around Nick and kisses him on the cheek. "Glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Nick says, squeezing Harry back. "Congrats mate, heard you set an iTunes record with preorders."

Harry pulls away, grinning sheepishly. "Yeah, 'm really proud of this album. Wrote on more than half the tracks," he says, his voice slow like gravel. Louis is standing a bit behind Nick, looking extremely focused on his vodka soda. He's done his hair up in a quiff, and is wearing his best blazer over a grey fitted shirt and tight skinnies, cuffed at the ankle. It's his favorite outfit, but he feels underdressed amidst all the designer digs. He's pretty sure he just saw Ed Sheeran and Ellie Goulding, and wow, sometimes he forgets just how connected Nick is. He drums his fingers on his glass, wondering if Nick is going to introduce him. He's zoned out though, so he doesn't notice that Nick is actually talking about him already.

"Louis' an actor. He's in Spring Awakening at the Lyric right now. He's modest as all hell though. Won't tell anyone how famous he is."

Louis flushes, embarrassed that he's probably come off as rude for not paying attention during the introduction, and at Nick's accolades. He's not famous. Not like Nick is. No one cares about the theater really. So what if their opening night had gotten five stars in a few magazines, he doubts Harry Styles has ever even heard of his company.

"Theater? That's amazing. I can't act for shit," Harry says, and Louis laughs a little, because yeah, he remembers seeing him on SNL a year or so ago. It was painful to put it generously.

"You're less pompous than I was expecting you to be," is what he finally comes up with to say, and Nick rolls his eyes.

Harry just grins. "Get that a lot. People think I'm some big Hollywood type, but I'm just a dorky kid from Cheshire who got lucky." He shrugs and looks back and forth between him and Nick. "So how do you two know each other?" he asks.

Louis tries not to think too hard about the fact that Nick hasn't said anything about him to Harry before this. They've only upgraded from fuck buddy status a few months ago, and Harry's been on tour, so he doubts Nick's even had much time to talk to him. It's still a bit of a blow to his ego, another reminder that he and Nick aren't anything solid, even though he's fought against it just as much, if not more, than Nick has.

Nick fields the question for him, since it's clear Louis doesn't know what his answer should be. "Met at a gallery opening. Louis is friends with Zayn Malik, the graffiti artist I told you about."

Harry's eyes light up. "Oh! Yeah! I've got one of his pieces in my London flat!"

Louis' eyes darken at that because okay, Harry Styles apparently knows about Zayn, Louis' best mate since primary, but not him, and that means that Nick has purposefully left him out of their conversations. He suddenly wants to be anywhere but this party.

He glances around and thinks about how easy it would be to pull. There's a cater-waiter who's had his eyes glued to his ass every time he walks past. He could probably slip out completely unnoticed, since Nick's attention is locked on Harry. But the thought of getting pounded into someone's bed that isn't Nick's is just...unappealing at best.

Nick laughs at something Harry's said, head tossed back and mouth open so wide Louis can see his tonsils. He doesn't know how, but he suddenly knows for certain that Harry and Nick have a history. It feels like a punch to the gut as he stares at Harry and pictures him on his knees for Nick. He wants to throw up, but instead he just finishes off his drink so he has an excuse to go to the bar.

The bartender is more subtle than the waiter, but Louis doesn't miss the smirk as he fills his glass almost two thirds with alcohol. Because he apparently enjoys pain, he turns around as he takes his first sip to look back at Nick and Harry. Harry's laughing, his whole body involved in the action as he reaches his hand out to steady himself on Nick's shoulder. Louis wonders how his glass emptied so quickly, but the bartender just shakes his head and chuckles as he pours him another.

Louis' finished his third rum and coke before he can go back to Nick, and it's been a while since he's drunk this much so he's quite a bit shakier than he'd been expecting. He manages to get to Nick without tripping over his feet, but from the look on Harry's face when he does, his level of intoxication was not as concealed as he thought.

"You alright, mate?" Harry asks, amusement clear in his voice.

"'M fine thanks, popstar," he slurs.

"Jesus, what do they put in the drinks here?" Nick reaches out to grab Louis arm as he threatens to lurch forward, his body very much wanting to be horizontal right now. Nick's grip on his elbow is tight, fingers digging in painfully as he gives Louis a look that's somewhere between annoyed and downright pissed off. "Think it's time we head home," he says tightly.

They've only been there for a little over an hour, and it's early, even by Nick's standards so, oh, Nick is embarrassed. That's what that look is. Louis feels his cheeks flush with the heat of the alcohol and shame and he shakes his head. "No, no, it's okay. We can stay. Or um, you can stay, I'll catch a cab..." He's rambling, he knows, trying to do damage control for his absolutely atrocious behavior. Nick just stares at him for a moment, then nods curtly.

"Think that might be a good idea," Nick says, and even in his drunken state, Louis feels the sharp edge to his tone.

He doesn't even say goodbye as he stumbles out onto the street and into the car, curling up in the backseat and trying and failing not to think about Harry's pink lips wrapped around Nick's cock.

 

-

 

"What the fuck was that about?" Nick demands when he storms into Louis' flat a few hours later. Louis sits up fast, knocking his bottle of water off the couch onto the floor. He wasn't expecting Nick at all tonight, not after the way he'd left things. When Louis had gotten home, he barely managed to strip out of his dress clothes before staggering to the toilet and puking his guts up. Now he's on the couch in just his pants, with a cup of tea and a jug of water that's now leaking onto the floor.

"What are you doing here?" is the first thing he can think of to say.

Nick stares at him like he's been replaced by a pod person or something. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

Louis isn't sure if he's still drunk, or if it's just exhaustion clouding his brain, but that doesn't make any sense. Nick was mad. Nick sent him home. He was embarrassed by him. Hadn't wanted him around Harry because he was making Nick look bad, and Nick had obviously been trying to score with the singer and Louis had ruined it. He'd spent the last two hours staring into his mug of tea and trying not to think about Harry and Nick in he back seat of Harry's limo heading back to his penthouse or wherever.

But now Nick is here, standing in his living room, and it just doesn't compute.

"Why aren't you with Harry?" He asks, because accusations are just spilling off his tongue tonight. He's thirsty again and he wants to pick up the water bottle from the floor, but he's also frozen in place, caught in some involuntary staring contest with Nick.

Nick blinks a few times. "With Harry..?" he echoes, brow furrowing. Louis cringes, wondering if he had gotten this all wrong to start with. No, not possible, he'd seen the chemistry between them. He knew Nick's flirting habits, having witnessed them firsthand. There's no way Nick isn't into Harry, so Louis just wonders what game he's trying to play now.

Louis finally reaches down to pick up the bottle, sucking in a breath at the stabbing headache behind his eyes.

"Thought you'd be with him," he says, shrugging. "Sorry if I uh, blew it for you." He shifts his eyes away from Nick's as he takes a sip of the water. He's so thirsty, it's all he can really think about right now, and slowly it dawns on him that he should probably check his levels because he doesn't think he'd given himself enough insulin before downing all those sugary drinks at the party.

But Nick's still standing there, so he'll just have to wait and hope his blood sugar doesn't spike too high. A trip to the hospital is definitely not scheduled into his weekend plans.

"What are you talking about?" Nick sounds completely bewildered.

Louis rolls his eyes. Now this is just getting annoying.

"Drop the act, Grimshaw," he mutters. "It's obvious you wanted to bone him. Sorry I got in the way."

Now he's stuck in that awkward place of needing to drink more, and desperately having to pee. He still doesn't know why Nick's here.

"Is that honestly what you think?" Because Nick's just full of questions tonight.

Louis squints back at him. "Yes?"

"God, Lou, you're so thick." And well, that was horribly uncalled for. Louis makes an indignant sound and his mouth opens to hurl an insult back, but Nick is pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers and sucking in a breath through his nose. "I don't know how you've managed to get that impression of me," he says, digging his palms into his eyes like he's got a headache to match Louis'.

Louis seems to have run out of brain capacity to form sentences. Nick sighs.

"In case you didn't notice, I invited you to the premiere as my date. I can't believe you think I'm the type of person who would..." he trails off, too scandalized to even complete that thought.

Are you not? Louis thinks to himself, but all that comes out of his mouth is, "So you and Harry--?"

"Happened one time, ages ago. He's not out, and we're better off as friends anyway."

Louis' relief must be evident on his face, because Nick's frown deepens. "Wait, were you jealous? Is that what this was about?"

Louis scowls, because no. Hell no. Jealousy is not a word in his vocabulary. But suddenly Nick is laughing.

"Oh my god, you are!" Nick is practically gleeful, and if Louis had the ability to hate him, he certainly would right now. As it is, he just pushes himself off the couch and storms off to the bathroom, muttering about having to piss, and not wanting to see Nick's face when he gets back.

He does take a piss while in the bathroom, but he also fumbles through the drawer under the sink for his glucose monitor and pricks his finger, then stares at the screen and waits for his result. It only takes a minute, but it feels like forever, and he's pretty sure Nick is still around and is going to get nosy, so he'd like this to be over as soon as possible. The stupid thing beeps when it's done, and he curses whoever thought that was a good feature to add, as he reads the print out telling him he's at 180. It's not awful, but it means he's going to have to keep checking every couple hours to make sure it goes back down, and that means he's not going to be able to sleep much tonight. So his mood is even worse when he trudges back out into the living room, and of course Nick is still there, but now he's sitting on the couch, looking down at the floor and absently toying with the frayed end of Louis' blanket.

"Are you alright?" he asks, looking up when he hears Louis.

"Yeah, peachy," Louis huffs as he sits down at the other end of the sofa, yanking his blanket back up over him.

They sit in silence for a few moments until Louis finally mutters, "Wasn't jealous." Because he wasn't. He knows that he and Nick don't have any formal agreement regarding monogamy, and that he has no right to be possessive. It's just that, well, they've been at least casually together for almost a year, and Nick's apparently been keeping him a secret.

"No?" Nick retorts. "Then why were you acting like a complete twat?"

Louis pulls his knees up to his chest, wrapping the blanket around him like a shield.

"'Cos you made me feel stupid," he mumbles into the fabric.

Nick's eyes widen. "What? How?" he asks, like he genuinely doesn't know.

"Because you didn't tell him about me. He didn't know I'm your--" he suddenly trails off, his mouth snapping shut, because he doesn't know what he was about to say. He realizes that his phobia of labels means that, well, he doesn't have a word for what he and Nick are. And he realizes now how that might be a problem. He pulls the blanket up higher to hide the color in his cheeks.

"My what?" Nick asks, because of course he's not going to let that slide.

"Dunno. Your something. 'Cos like, we are something, right?" Louis asks, gnawing on the inside of his lip.

Nick stares at him, and Louis wonders if there's something on his face, because this is like the tenth time tonight that Nick's just been all bug eyes at him.

"I mean, we don't... If you... It's not..." Louis stammers, trying to backtrack. And then suddenly Nick is lunging across the couch and kissing him, and now it's Louis' turn to go wide eyed as his brain takes several seconds to catch up.

"Of course, love," Nick says, when he finally pulls back to catch his breath. "We're whatever you want to be."

And oh, there's that warm feeling again. The one that Louis likes to pretend isn't really there. But it's damn persistent, and well, maybe it's not as awful as he's convinced himself it is. He sucks in a breath and then reaches his hands up to pull Nick closer by his shirt.

"Okay," he mumbles, pressing their foreheads together. "'Something' is good."

Nick sighs, bringing his hands up to cup Louis cheeks. "Yeah, baby, 'something' is definitely good."

 

-

 

Louis doesn't remember falling asleep, but he wakes up about an hour later, tucked into his own bed with Nick's arm draped over his stomach. He lays there for a moment, smiling at the sound of Nick's soft breaths behind him, then sighs, knowing he has to get up and check his blood sugar. He lifts Nick's arm as gently as he can, pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist before tucking a pillow into the empty space where he'd been laying. He really doesn't want to wake him up.

His glucose meter tells him his levels have dropped to 155, which is really good, and means he can probably sleep through the rest of the night without having to worry about things getting out of control. He chuckles a little to himself, thinking about what his doctor advised, that exercise is a good way of getting his hyperglycemia under control. Apparently a few rounds of mind blowing sex fit the bill as well.

He looks at his reflection in the mirror and smiles a little at the trail of deep red bruises along his neck, remembering Nick mumbling "mine" against his skin in between sucking the dark marks.

He stands in the bathroom for longer than he realizes, and Nick eventually wakes up and comes in to stand behind him, naked body pressing up against him as he leans down to press a kiss to his shoulder.

"Feeling better, darling?" Nick asks as he trails his fingers down Louis' back to let them come to rest on his hips. Louis leans back into the embrace, smiling softly.

"Much," he murmurs. This gentleness is new for them. They're both usually full of biting words and brash actions, but right now Louis just feels a sense of calm, a peace he hasn't felt before. His mind, which is usually racing with doubts and questions and worst case scenarios, is blissfully silent. He turns his head to capture Nick's lips with his own. They stay like that for a few moments, Nick holding Louis close against him, swaying his hips slightly as they kiss. His hands eventually find their way from Louis' hips to his ass, palms flat over the swell of his cheeks. He trails his lips down along Louis' jaw, sucking another mark under his ear.

"Our makeup artist is going to hate you," Louis murmurs, his head dropping back to give Nick better access to his neck. Nick laughs softly, puffs of breath ticking Louis' skin and making him shiver.

Nick's fingers explore the expanse of Louis' skin, dancing across his lower back and then slipping down between his cheeks. Louis winces slightly as they graze over his hole, still a bit tender from earlier. Nick catches it, even though Louis thought it was imperceptible, and his fingers still, his lips pressed to the back of Louis' neck, between his shoulder blades.

"Let me take care of that, love," Nick whispers, and Louis, for once, doesn't try to fight him. Nick presses kisses all the way down his spine, dropping to his knees behind Louis, who leans forward, bracing his hands on the sink. Louis drops his head down so he doesn't have to see himself in the mirror, pupils blown wide with lust and need.

Nick spreads his cheeks with both hands, kissing between them, his tongue flicking over his entrance, and Louis' grip tightens on the vanity. Nick licks a few times before dipping his tongue inside, swirling around his rim, and Louis can't help the low moan that escapes his lips.

"Good?" Nick breathes against his skin, and Louis trembles as he nods.

Nick brings one hand around to wrap around Louis' length, stroking a few times, and Louis feels his cock swelling in response, sort of amazed that he still can after earlier, when Nick practically milked a third orgasm out of him with three fingers pressed deep inside him and his lips around the head of his cock.

Louis squeezes his eyes shut as Nick gently squeezes his balls, then continues stroking, working his magic with his tongue. It's an embarrassingly short time before Louis is leaning forward, body shaking as he grips the edge of the sink for dear life and comes hard into Nick's hand.

Nick comes up from behind him, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, smiling. Louis feels weightless. He turns around so he can wrap his arms around Nick's waist and burying his face in the crook of his neck. "You're amazing," he mumbles, and doesn't protest when Nick lifts him up with his hands tucked under his thighs and carries him back to bed.

 

-

 

It's Monday, and Louis wakes up while Nick is still at work. He reaches for his phone and scrolls through his notifications, then sends a text to Zayn asking if he wants to facetime. Then he pushes himself out of bed and goes sluggishly through his morning routine. When he comes back, face washed and hair vaguely resembling an intentional style, he has an affirmative reply from his best friend.

"Hey Zee," he says with a wide smile when the dark haired boy's face appears on the screen of his phone.

Zayn waves and then turns his phone around so Louis gets a view out of the window of his hotel room. "How mad is this?" he hears Zayn ask as he stands up to get closer to the window. Louis can see the Eiffel Tower over the rooftops beyond the balcony. So it was Paris after all.

"That's sick, mate," he laughs, eyes wide. He's not jealous of Zayn, honestly. He loves traveling, but he could never do the lifestyle of constantly moving from one hotel to another, living out of a suitcase, nothing permanent. He's a little envious of the sunshine, but he's gotten used to London's fog over the years, and honestly it's comforting at this point. He always know what to expect when he wakes up in the morning.

Zayn flops back on his bed, switching to his front camera again so Louis can see his face.

"So what's up, Tommo? I know you love my face, but you don't usually call this early unless you've got something to talk about."

Zayn knows him too well. Of course he does, they've been best friends since they were in diapers. They went through their awkward preteen years together, suffered through growth spurts and voice changes, supported each other through family drama, were there for each other's sexuality crises, for Christ's sake they were each other's first kiss (which was a pretty funny story involving weed, a stuffed teddy bear, and truth or dare). The upside of all this is that Zayn can read him like a book.

Louis groans, laying on his side and propping his phone up on the pillows.

"It's Nick," he says, burying his face in the duvet.

Zayn frowns. "What'd he do?" And Louis can tell he's ready to beat the shit out of Nick for whatever he thinks he's done. Louis thinks he'd like to beat the shit out of Nick too, since he's the reason Louis' stomach is a fluttery twist of knots and he keeps fucking smiling every half second.

"Nothing," Louis groans, pulling the duvet up higher. "Everything." He squeezes his eyes shut. "Stupid prick had to go and make me fall in love with him."

There's a clatter, and Zayn has literally dropped his phone off the side of his bed.

"I'm sorry, what?" he balks as he picks it up again.

"You heard me, you tit."

Zayn just stares at him open mouthed for a few seconds.

"So let me guess, you're in the middle of an existential crisis and thinking about breaking up with him?"

Louis just nods, his head bobbing up and down under the comforter. Then he peeks out over it. "Can't really break up though, when we're not even dating."

Zayn groans. He's been telling Louis he needs to have The Talk with Nick for months, but Louis really hates capital letters, and Zayn's lost his marbles if he thinks Louis is ever going to initiate that.

"Babes, you are the most frustratingly stubborn person I've ever met," Zayn pinches the bridge of his nose, "And I'm dating Liam."

Louis chuckles a bit at that, remembering back to when they'd met Liam in their first year of university, and how long it had taken him to even admit he liked guys, much less that he wanted to be with Zayn.

"Okay, just start small," Zayn sighs. "No one's saying you need to bring the L word into it, just talk to him about being exclusive. See what he thinks, yeah?"

Louis nods slowly. Zayn always has good advice. Louis really should listen to it more. But like Zayn said, his stubborn bullheadedness is kind of a key pillar of his personality.

Zayn presses his lips together. "I gotta go, car's here to take me to the airport. But you're gonna be okay, yeah? Keep me updated. And Li and I will see you at your show next weekend."

Louis smiles. "Love you. Seriously. You're the best."

And Zayn just laughs and waves him off. "Love you too, you arse." And they say their goodbyes and end the call.

Louis flops onto his back, pulling the duvet up over him again and letting out a loud groan. Feelings are stupid, he decides. His clock tells him that Nick gets done work in a few minutes, and he should probably eat something, so he makes himself get out of bed. He's standing at the stovetop pushing eggs around in a pan with a spatula when he hears the door of his flat open. It's going on the sixth consecutive workday that Nick has showed up at his his after work, and he's certainly not complaining, but it is somewhat surprising.

Nick drops his bag on the barstool by the counter and then comes around to hug Louis from behind, kissing his cheek. "Surprised to see you up. Thought vampires disintegrated in sunlight."

Louis rolls his eyes, glancing towards the window. "Well, I don't see any sun, but regardless, we don't disintegrate, we just sparkle. God Bella, how many times do I have to explain it to you?"

Nick makes a face. "Eugh, gross, I am not going to have your demon spawn baby, no matter how pretty and sparkly you are Mr. Cullen."

Louis flutters his eyelashes. "You think I'm pretty?"

Nick flicks his nose lightly. "Course I do. The prettiest princess of all."

It's gross. Disgusting really. Louis should be wanting to vomit right now, but all he feels is more fluttering in his stomach, and an overwhelming urge to throw himself at Nick and bury his crimson face in his chest. Instead he just bites the inside of his cheek and focuses on flipping the eggs over.

Nick massages his shoulders as he sprinkles shredded cheese over the egg scramble. It feels so domestic that Louis has a brief but staggering flash of what a future could be like with Nick if he ever decides to get his shit together.

He pours the eggs out onto a plate and the takes a deep breath. "Hey um, can we talk?"

 

-

 

They sit at the table and Louis pushes his eggs around his plate with a fork, not having any clue how to begin. Nick is sitting across from him, with a container of yogurt and a fizzy water. "Everything okay, love?" he asks, when Louis has been silent for for too long.

Louis nods slowly, biting his lip as he looks up at Nick. "So um, we've been like, together, or something, for a while and I... I was sort of thinking like, maybe we could talk more about us? Like, what we are, what our future is?" He's rambling and stumbling over his words, and he probably should have planned this out better beforehand, but it's too late now. He rushes forward. "Because like, I feel bad, if you like want to find someone to settle down with, and I'm holding you back. And I know I got jealous about Harry but like, if you're seeing other people and you want to you know, be exclusive with someone, we should probably talk about that so we aren't wasting our time--" he has a lot more to say but Nick cuts him off, setting his spoon down on the table firmly and staring up at him with a deep crease in his brow.

"Lou, there hasn't been anyone but you for months."

Louis thoughts spiral to a halt, like all the gears in his brain have jammed and he can't process this information.

"Wait, what?" is all he can manage to get out.

Nick shakes his head, giving Louis that look that's somewhere between perplexed and patronizing.

"So thick, I swear," he groans under his breath.

"I don't... I thought... Seriously?" None of this makes sense. He's sure that Nick's been seeing other people. Though, looking back on the last few months, they've been spending a lot of time together and there wouldn't have been all that much time for Nick to be involved with someone else and oh, wow, Louis has no idea how he didn't notice this earlier. His eggs are completely forgotten, going cold on his plate as he stares at Nick.

"Just me?" he squeaks, his voice going high with disbelief.

"Just you," Nick assures, and Louis still doesn't know properly what to make of this.

He swallows and looks down, his cheeks pink and his eyes wide. "Yeah, uh, just been you for me, too," he says.

"I know." And when Louis looks up, Nick's got this little smirk on his face, like he knows something Louis doesn't.

"What?" Louis demands, indignant.

"Been waiting for you to figure it out. Thought I was going to have to rent a bloody skywriter."

Louis wants to smack him. Figure what out? He's literally never been more lost in his life. He scrunches his mouth into a frown, narrowing his eyes at Nick.

Nick rolls his eyes. "I thought we were getting somewhere, but then you freaked out about Harry and I realized you still had no clue. Louis, we've pretty much been dating for like, six months."

If the world had stopped turning before, now it's exploding into a million tiny pieces, and taking Louis' sanity with it.

"When ah, when were you going to tell me this?" he asks carefully, looking down at his fingernails, and wishing his cheeks weren't so prone to blushing, because he's annoyed right now. That's the emotion he tells himself he's feeling, at least. Everything feels like it's going very fast and impossibly slow at the same time. His heart is pounding in his ears as he finally makes himself look up at Nick.

"Didn't want to freak you out," Nick shrugs. "But you're freaking out anyway, so I guess that was a futile attempt."

Louis glares. "'M not freaking out." Louis lies a lot, is a thing he's realizing. Though mostly it's to himself. And this conversation isn't going at all the way he'd planned it to, though he's slowly realizing that Nick isn't laughing at him, or telling him they should break up, and wait a minute, if Nick felt like they were dating this whole time, then that means Nick wants to date him, and what? His brain suddenly catches up and his eyes go wide. "Oh."

Nick raises an eyebrow. "Getting it now?" he asks, not even trying to conceal his amusement.

"Y-yeah. Think so."

Nick's lips curl into a grin. "Good, was worried I broke your brain, Princess."

Louis doesn't even protest the nickname. He just swallows hard, and takes a breath. "So um, what does this mean?"

Nick's smile softens, a look in his eyes that Louis hasn't seen before. "Well, now we make it official, yeah? Because in case you haven't noticed, Louis Tomlinson, I would like to date the shit out of you."

Finally it seems to sink in that this is all real and not some elaborate prank that Nick is pulling, and Louis blinks a few times before taking a deep breath. His eyes are wide and he tugs his lips between his teeth, before pursing them as he nods. "Well, Nicholas Grimshaw," he says slowly, "I would like to date the shit out of you as well."

It's every bit as terrifying as Louis thought it was going to be, but somehow he has a feeling it's going to be okay. Before he knows it, Nick is pulling him up out of his chair and kissing him, bruisingly, and the fluttering feeling hasn't gone away and he doesn't know if it ever will, but wow, Nick wants to be with him and he thinks he's just going to stop thinking now and focus on Nick's lips because kissing his boyfriend might be the greatest feeling in the entire world.

 

-

 

Louis is pacing backstage at the theater Saturday night. He's always a jittering mess of nerves before shows. He checks his hair for the millionth time, and makes sure his stage makeup isn't smudged, and runs through his vocal exercises.

He knows Nick is out in the audience. And Zayn and Liam. Their flight got in late, so he didn't get to see them before the show, but they have dinner reservations after, and he can't wait to catch up with them. Of course he told Zayn how thinks worked out with Nick, but they haven't really talked, and the two of them haven't ever spent any quality time with Nick really, so it will be nice. A proper double date, which is never not going to make Louis' stomach fill with butterflies.

He checks his blood sugar quickly before the show, really not wanting to pass out in the middle of the performance, and then texts Nick that yes, he's fine and could Nick stop freaking out please because it's really not helping. Nick apologizes with a few emojis and then an entire line of hearts and thumbs ups.

This past week has been ridiculous. After their breakfast conversation, Nick had carried Louis back to their bedroom. Louis isn't sure when he started thinking of it as 'their' bedroom, but the thought is just another thing to add to the list of things that make his insides flutter, and so he's not going to think too much about it.

Nick had laid Louis down on the bed, pressing kisses to every exposed bit of skin, and then pushing up his tee shirt so he could reach more. He lingered over Louis' hip bones, taking his time to leave his mark in the deep red bruises he sucked there. When he was finally satisfied, he'd tugged Louis' shorts down, continuing his kisses along the insides of his thighs, and finally up the length of his cock, and Louis was practically begging by the time he benevolently reached for the lube.

It was slow and sweet, Nick taking his time to open Louis up, to make him come apart, to break down his walls and leave him shaking with need. When Nick reached for the box of condoms on the nightstand, Louis just shook his head, and they both smiled into their kiss. It just felt right, and as Louis was laying there, trembling as he came down from his orgasm, with Nick's body draped over his, it was like everything in the universe had come together for this one beautiful moment, and maybe Louis needed to lay off the romantic poetry, but whatever, he would just blame it on Nick's sexual prowess, making him see stars and dissolving his brain cells.

Louis checks his mic one last time and then steps up in the wings of the stage, waiting for his cue to go on. He can't see the audience at all because of the lights, but just knowing that three of the most important people in his life are out there makes this the best show he's ever done. He's absolutely buzzing by the time the curtain closes, and races back to his dressing room, eager to get changed and take all his makeup off so he can go out and meet them.

Nick's waiting for him when he gets there, a giant bouquet of flowers in his arms, and Louis rolls his eyes but doesn't protest in the least when Nick pulls him in for a kiss. "You better not have let anyone see you," Louis warns. "I'll never hear the end of it." His cast mates are nothing if not incredibly obnoxious and invasive individuals. He loves them dearly, but he refuses to give them any more ammunition to use to rib at his love life.

They don't detach from each other for several minutes until Louis whines, "I have to get changed or we won't make out reservation," and Nick groans but pulls away, letting Louis go to wash his face. A few moments later there's a loud banging on the door and they both jump until Louis hears Zayn's cackle.

"Oi! You two better not be shagging in there! I'm starving," Zayn calls out, and then let's out an "Oof," as Liam probably elbows him in the stomach.

"Hold your damn horses," Louis snaps back, but he's laughing too, and pulling on a jacket over his v-neck and tight jeans.

It's great to see Zayn and Liam. He really doesn't get to as much as he would like. Liam's in marketing at a big London firm, so he's there part the time, but frequently has to jet off to their New York office at a moment's notice, and Zayn's off on his gallery tour, so getting them all together in the same place for an extended period of time is nothing short of a miracle.

He opens the door of the dressing room and is engulfed in a massive bear hug.

"Missed you too, Zee," he chuckles, muffled in Zayn's chest.

"You were bloody brilliant up there, mate," Zayn says, clapping him on the back when he finally lets him go.

Liam nods his agreement. "So proud of you," he says with a smile, and Louis grins back at them, a flush rising on his cheeks. Then the two of them turn their attention to Nick, Zayn's eyes narrowing as he looks him over.

"I like you, Grimshaw. You've grown on me," he says, pursing his lips together. Louis knows there's a 'but' coming, and isn't surprised when Zayn sucks in a breath through his nose, brows furrowing into a scowl. "If you hurt Louis, I promise you, I will destroy you and every single thing you care about, including your dog."

Louis isn't entirely sure he's joking. Nick just nods solemnly, and Louis feels a swell of emotion, a feeling that's becoming more and more frequent as he's been starting to open himself up to Nick. He really does love him, and the thought hits him with such force that a lump rises in his throat and his eyes burn just a bit. He clears his throat and runs his fingers through his hair.

"So ah, cab should be here soon, shall we?" He gestures towards the door, and everyone nods. Nick slips his arm around his waist as they start walking, and presses a kiss just below his ear.

"I promise I'll never hurt you," he murmurs so only Louis can hear, and the lump is back, but now he's smiling so hard his cheeks hurt as he turns his head to catch Nick's lips for just a second.

It's settled, he's totally gone for Nick.

 

-

 

A few weeks later, Louis comes home after rehearsal and finds Nick curled up in his bed. A soft smile curls over his mouth as he strips out of his jeans and crawls under the covers next to him. He can't fall asleep though, he's got to many thoughts racing through his head. He sits there, just watching Nick sleep for almost an hour, and he hopes that's not considered creepy. Finally Nick rolls over and blinks his eyes open.

"Didn't hear you get home, love. Everything okay?" he mumbles, voice slow with sleep.

Louis doesn't say anything, just pulls his knees up tighter to his chest and drops his chin down to rest on them. Nick frowns, pushing himself up so he can sit next to Louis, mirroring his position.

"Talk to me, Princess," Nick murmurs after a moment.

Louis sucks in a breath and let's it out slowly through his nose.

"I'm scared," he says finally, and it's like it took everything in him to say those words because he slumps forward, curling in on himself.

Nick swallows, his eyes wide. He reaches his hand out to rest on Louis' shoulder, than moves it up to cup his cheek.

"Of what, love?"

Louis doesn't want to do this, but he knows he has to. He squeezes his eyes shut, giving himself a few more seconds before the world inevitably comes crashing down on him.

"I've never told someone I love them before." It comes out in a whisper, so low he's not sure Nick's heard it. Maybe he can pretend he never said it. Maybe he can take it back, run fleeing from his bedroom, move to some remote island in the pacific and never have to see Nick again. Luck was never something that Louis had an abundance of, and he knows from the way that Nick's hands drop from his knees and his eyes widen that he heard.

"You...you love me?" It's the first time Louis' ever seen Nick rendered speechless. He knows he shouldn't have said it. He would give anything to take it back and let everything go back to the way it was. He and Nick had had a good thing, and now he had to go and ruin it by falling too hard.

"Yeah but.. It's fine if you don't.. We can just uh, forget I said anything..." Louis mutters into his knees.

When he looks up, Nick is giving him that patronizing look again.

"I don't think I'll be able to forget," Nick says, meting out his words carefully.

Louis' stomach clenches. "Oh," he manages, sinking just a little bit deeper into his shame.

"What's today's date?" Nick asks, and Louis frowns, a crease in his brow.

"The twenty-second, why?"

"Because I keep track of all our anniversaries, and this is a very important one."

Louis blinks at him. "What are you talking about?"

"I love you, Louis. Have for a long time. I didn't want to scare you off, or pressure you into something you weren't ready for, so I was willing to wait however long it took for you to work it out for yourself," Nick explains, his hand back on Louis' cheek, thumb stroking soft circles into his skin. "I'm very glad I don't have to wait any more."

Louis is still blinking and staring, and he wonders briefly if there's something medically wrong with him. But Nick just laughs and moves closer, cupping both his cheeks in his hands.

"I feel like you think I'm some heartless, twatty asshole, but if you haven't noticed, I'm sort of the biggest sap in the world."

Louis finally stops staring, his blank expression turning into a pout.

"You could have told me, you know. Saved me a lot of angsting over whether or not you were going to laugh me off when I put my heart on the line for you."

Nick's eyes soften and he shakes his head. "Sweetheart, you had to have known. I'm not that subtle."

And okay, Nick has a point. He hasn't really done anything to conceal his affections at all, Louis is just very good and overthinking and letting his doubt and insecurities run rampant. Even now he's still got a little niggling sense of fear in the back of his mind, that Nick is just fucking with him, or more realistically, that Nick just thinks he's in love, but will eventually realize that Louis doesn't live up to what he's hoping for, and he'll get sick of him. Even the seemingly happiest relationships can crumble. His mother and Mark lasted years before the cracks in their marriage finally exploded into canyons, irreparable fault lines that not even their best efforts could fix.

Louis' strong, but he doesn't think his heart is. He could put on a brave face, appear fine for all intents and purposes, but if Nick left him, he thinks he'd be shattered beyond repair, his heart freezing solid, walls turning into fortresses to ward off anyone who ever attempts to get close to him again.

But is it better to forgo his one chance at a real, true love to fend off possible future heartbreak? Would it really be better to give up now before he's even given it a proper shot? He loves Nick. He loves Nick more than he thinks he's ever loved another person, and no, the answer is that he's not willing to give that up just on the fear that Nick will crush his heart. It's a testament to how much he trusts him. How genuinely good they are for each other, that he's able to take a deep breath and go for it.

For the first time, he speaks the words aloud, staring Nick straight in the eye and saying, "I love you, Nicholas Grimshaw. I am one hundred percent, completely, terrifyingly, in love with you."

And it takes everything in him not to let the tears fall from his burning eyes, but then Nick's cheeks are moist and it was all futile because Louis is hiccuping out a sob, and they're clutching at each other and holding each other close while Louis shakes with emotion and Nick rubs his back and murmurs how much he loves him over and over again.

His walls are down. His heart is laid out in the open, defenseless, and he thinks it should be a lot scarier than it is, but it's hard to be scared when Nick's arms are wrapped tight around him and he's pressing kisses to his wet cheeks.


	3. Epilogue

It's sort of a bigger deal than he was expecting, to be publicly announced as Nick Grimshaw's boyfriend. He's never had to directly deal with paparazzi before now, so it's a new experience, him and Nick practically sprinting into a cafe with their hoods up over their heads. He's not even sure what interest they could possibly have in him. Everyone's known Nick was gay for as long as he's been on Radio 1, so it seems like it should be expected that he would eventually have a boyfriend, but for some reason this is the Next Big Story for all the tabloids, and it's extremely weird for Louis to see his own name and face plastered over the front of the Sun and the Mirror when he goes to buy his morning coffee.

Things get weirder when Teen Pop Idol Harry Styles makes his coming out speech at a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and in the slew of articles spilling the sordid details of his past relationships, Nick's name is drug into the mix, and suddenly the big story is that Harry is the jealous ex, pining over Nick and trying to win him back. Which is ridiculous, because Louis and Harry are actually great friends now, and have a standing brunch date on the first Saturday of each month, providing that Harry isn't on tour God knows where.

An unexpected side effect of all this is that suddenly Louis' shows are selling out weeks in advance, and he's somehow obtained a fan following. His Twitter follower count has spiked absurdly, and suddenly England's teen girl population has a huge interest in the theater. He's never really wanted to be properly famous, but he figures he's going to make the most of this new level of influence he's acquired.

With Nick's help, he's able to start a non-profit theater camp for kids with chronic illnesses, so he's been incredibly busy with getting everything up and running, and at the same time planning for Zayn and Liam's wedding, which is the last week in May in Turks and Caicos, because the two of them kept trying to one up each other with the planning and Liam's life motto is "go big or go home". Louis is Zayn's best man, of course, and that's significantly more responsibility than he'd anticipated, but he wouldn't give up the position for the world.

The wedding goes wonderfully--despite a few mishaps with the flowers, and a temper tantrum or two (mostly Louis, but once it was Zayn freaking out because he couldn't find his hair gel)--and there's not a dry eye in the crowd as Zayn and Liam read their vows to each other. Louis' eyes are puffy and his cheeks splotched and he does his best to give Nick a scowl when he hands him a tissue, but fails miserably.

Zayn and Liam have followed all the wedding traditions to the letter, all the way down to the bouquet toss, and Louis knows exactly what Zayn is up to when he lobs the bundle of flowers directly at Louis' protesting face. What he's not expecting is to turn around and see Nick down on one knee with a tiny velvet box in his hand, and well, the waterworks are far from over.

That night in their bed in the hotel room, Louis can't stop staring at the ring on his finger. Nick has kissed it upwards of a hundred times already, but he can't seem to stop either. Nick twines their fingers together, holding Louis' hands above his head as he thrusts into him slow and tender.

He presses soft kisses to Louis' neck, just below his ear, and smiles. "Thank you," he murmurs against Louis' warm skin.

Louis frowns softly. "For what?"

Nick picks his head up so he can look Louis in the eyes. "For giving me a chance. For letting me in."

Louis smiles and squeezes Nick's fingers in his own.

"Thank you for being patient and waiting for me," he says in return, lifting his head up from the pillow to kiss Nick softly. "Love you, so much," he breathes, and Nick smiles back, kissing him again.

"I love you too," Nick says against his lips, and Louis closes his eyes, not wanting to think about anything but how absolutely perfect this feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are much appreciated! Please let me know what you think :]

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://lightlytoastedlarrie.tumblr.com)! Feel free to send me prompts for Larry, Ziam, Lilo, or Tomlinshaw :)


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